Getting invited to the Big Apple is a kind of status symbol. The NFL has invited a record 30 top prospects and is footing the bill for the prospects and a few of their handpicked guests. They arrive today and can mark the occasion in style, with sightseeing and photo ops galore.

A few weeks ago, while rehabbing a foot injury, he was hoping NFL teams at least had him on their radar after he was unable to run or participate in drills at the combine. Before the combine in late February, he was widely projected as a third-day pick.

Now, as the draft invite confirms, Latimer is like hot stock.

Some of the latest mock drafts, including a version from ESPN analyst Todd McShay, have Latimer going in the bottom third of the first round.

"I'm trying not to listen to the hype," Latimer said. "I'm trying to block that out. I don't know what's going to happen."

Yet he can clearly sense the buzz. Few prospects racked up more frequent-flier miles during the predraft process than Latimer, who visited 11 teams during a three-week window in April.

He rattled off the visits like it was roll call: Buffalo. Philadelphia. Oakland. San Francisco. Seattle. Jacksonville. Carolina. Baltimore. Washington. Detroit. San Diego.

Then Latimer chuckled.

"You hear it all the time," he said, "when people say that the team that drafted them never showed any interest in them before the draft."

Still, the travelogue underscores momentum.

This is what can happen when 24 teams attend your pro day in late March and you blow them away by posting a hand-timed 40-yard dash as low as 4.39 seconds, with a 39-inch vertical leap.

Latimer (6-3, 215 pounds) is a big, physical receiver who sees himself having shared traits with San Francisco 49ers star Anquan Boldin. In the little that he was able to do at the combine, his 23 reps in the 225-pound bench press were most among receivers.

So the type of strength that might allow him to get off the line against tighter NFL coverage - one of the most challenging aspects of the transition from college for receivers - is well documented.

Then listen to Kevin Johns, who was Latimer's coordinator and position coach at IU. Last season, Latimer caught 72 passes for 1,096 yards with nine touchdowns. The word that sticks with Johns is radius.

"He catches every ball that is within his radius," Johns told USA TODAY Sports on Monday. "In three years, I can think of just one ball that he dropped."

Johns also raves about Latimer's maturity level, which he thinks was influenced by tragedy. Latimer, a Dayton, Ohio, native, was 12 when he lost his father, Colby, to colon cancer.

Colby Latimer was a football-basketball high school star in Dayton before becoming a defensive standout at Bowling Green.

"I hear it all the time, how good he was," Latimer said. "Now I'm just carrying on the Latimer name, because this was his dream for me."

The vision is still a work in progress. Latimer was reminded of that as he trained in Florida a few weeks ago with Chicago Bears Pro Bowl wideout Brandon Marshall.

Latimer says Marshall has been a valuable resource in preparing for the next level, offering as much insight into off-the-field issues as the work on the field.

Yet it was an on-the-field observation from Marshall that is still resonating.

"I remember," Marshall told USA TODAY Sports. "I told him he didn't look like he really wanted it. I just wanted to remind him that he has to bring it - always."

Latimer still isn't sure why Marshall called him out ... but accepted the feedback in the right spirit nonetheless.

"I didn't like that so much," Latimer recalled. "I was working, but if he didn't think it was to the level it needed to be, obviously, I'll take that.